Human frailty
by fen-san
Summary: Kyusaku and Akiko have a quiet conversation. Oneshot, thoughtful tone.


Standard disclaimer – I do not own the characters portrayed within, nor am I making any money from this. Just to help you orient yourselves this is set a few years after the events of the OVA with the OVA canon of events and relationships.

Akiko couldn't sleep and it was all that damn' androbot NK-1124's fault. She'd managed to take time away from her busy schedule to pick Ryunosuke up from school only for him to hurl himself at that lump of cold metal and modelled latex, moulded by her perverted husband's fantasies.

Her only son had extricated himself from the boisterous embrace to notice her and to bow slightly in acknowledgement of her unaccustomed presence. His voice was level and polite, but devoid of even the residual affection it had held a few years back when the robot had first come along and Kyusaku had left, taking their son with him. 'Okaa-sama, what brings you here?' The only emotion his unbroken voice held was surprise.

'I came to congratulate you on your first day of Middle school, Ryunosuke.' Akiko was hurt that her only son thought so little of her to be surprised she remembered his age.

'This is my second year in middle school, Okaa-sama. I have been studying with the year above me for almost two years now.'

'Hey Ryu-san, how did the electronics class like your seminar?' Kyusaku, her scruffy, useless husband had arrived from the college next door. She wondered why she didn't crush him now she knew where he worked. Apathy, probably.

'It went great. Thanks for lending me those notes.' Ryu glanced at the floor, then up at his father. 'I never realised your work was actually influential.'

'You're welcome, Ryu-san.' Kyusaku ruffled his son's hair momentarily. 'Oh hey Akiko-san, what're you doing here?'

'Nothing!' She snapped at him, feeling her heart being rent asunder by the sight of her beloved only child hugging that lifeless hunk of metal while her jerk of a husband had the gall to look on paternally. 'Good day to you.' She said, turning on her heel and leaving.

She didn't know whether to scream in rage or to burst into tears. In the privacy of her office she did both, then collapsed into her executive chair, body quaking slightly with the aftershocks of her emotional outburst.

'Akiko… thanks for thinking of Ryu today.' A quiet voice spoke from her doorway, startling her back to reality. Kyusaku strolled in and placed a bottle and two heavy crystal tumblers on her desk. Akiko was surprised at how neat he looked in barely rumpled slacks and the jumper she'd got him for their first Christmas together. It brought back memories.

'It hurts, you know, the way he snubs me in favour of half a tonne of combat robot.' She was too tired to work up any real emotion any more and Kyusaku had to lean in slightly to hear her soft voice. He leaned back and his expression mirrored hers, albeit with the uncertainty of sincerity, what with his eyes being concealed as usual.

'I know. He does it to me as well, albeit to a lesser extent. But then it's understandable with me. He actually had the gall to force me to get psychiatric help because my 'self-destructive living habits and work ethic are destroying my mental and physical health and hint at emotional disturbance'. For crying out loud!' The eye-roll was audible in his cynical tone. However Akiko actually agreed with her son on that one. Their marriage had broken down at least in part to her husband's mad scientist antics and habit of closeting himself away in his labs for days on end, coming out high on sleep deprivation and laughing manically prior to keeling over in the hallway. 'But Nuku-Nuku is always there for him. I programmed her to be utterly loyal and adoring. Even conventional well-adjusted humans cannot compete with that, how could we – an arms dealer and a compulsive scientist? To be blunt even when we were together you worked late most nights at the office and I was too busy working on projects for your grandfather. Now you're away and I'm working extra jobs or experimenting all hours of the day and night. Of course he thinks he loves the androbot over us. She gives him the stability we never could.' Kyusaku ended his little speech by coughing into his hand and pouring them both a hefty shot of whisky. The two adults touched the rims of their glasses together and Akiko spoke.

'To human frailty in all its forms.'

A/N – This fic isn't supposed to go anywhere, it is simply a meditation on the fact that Ryu, for all his virtues is still a kid. He would likely struggle with his parents imperfections since he isn't really old enough to deal with their humanity. Nuku-Nuku's love is much more simple than the one his parents show for him and so he can accept it more easily, even if he does not take into account the effect that has on his parents.


End file.
